Stolen Moments
by HighQueen
Summary: Eren shoved her against a wall, his arms caging her as he pressed his palms against the cement and leaned in. "Wh-what's up?" Mikasa found her cheeks heating up at his proximity. "Cut the crap, Mikasa," Eren snarled, "Armin told me what you did. You yell at me for being reckless and not taking care of myself, but turns out you're the biggest hypocrite in the world!" Eren/Mikasa


_Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin._

_Spoiler Alert: spoilers for events up till chapter 30 of the manga (and of course, all of the anime episodes)_

_Author's Notes: Shingeki no Kyojin is my new love and Eren/Mikasa is my new OTP. And no, they're not technically siblings, so it's not incest if they have romantic feelings for one another. _

_This is basically a compilation of behind the scenes (or rather 'behind-the-panels') moments between Eren and Mikasa which fits into the actual plot of the manga._

_Please read and review!_

* * *

**Stolen Moments**

* * *

"Mikasa Ackerman?"

Mikasa bolted up, quick as ever, curling her fist and banging it to her chest.

"Yes, sir?"

"Quick reflexes, I see," Commander Pixis nodded approvingly.

"Commander," Mikasa began breathlessly, "Is Eren alright? Could I see him?"

"Eren is awake now," Pixis informed her, "And he's asking for you-"

Before he could complete his sentence, the girl had all but disappeared, red scarf flashing behind her as she turned a corner.

* * *

"Eren!" Mikasa cried, bolting into his hospital room, "Eren, are you alright? Are you still injured? Are you hurting anywhere?"

Eren was sitting upright on his bed, and other than a catheter attached to his arm he didn't seem to have any visible injuries – being a Titan did come with its benefits – and his green eyes were sharp and swirling with emotion when they met hers.

"Mikasa," he greeted softly, his eyes not leaving hers.

Mikasa's stomach twisted strangely. She realized they hadn't actually spoken properly ever since – well ever since their little argument before, when Eren had been pretty furious with her.

_'Nobody gives a fuck what you want!' Eren snarled, as she rubbed her stinging head. When she reached out to him, he shrugged her off. _

_His last gaze hadn't been particularly pleasant. She could tell that he resented her at that moment, though she wasn't sure why._

_Thereafter, they had been separated, he had nearly gotten himself killed and then turned into a Titan instead, and saved her life – twice. _

There was an awkward pause, as Eren seemed to be remembering their altercation as well, and was hesitating with what to say.

"Mikasa," he repeated, starting to slide off his bed, tugging slightly at the catheter.

"Eren, don't-"

He started to stand.

"Listen, Mikasa, I-"

"Eren!" she cried, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him back down on the bed, her protective instincts surging forward, "Stop moving! You're still weak! Just lie still in bed!"

And then his green eyes flashed, with that all-too familiar anger, and Mikasa's heart clenched.

"Shut up!" he growled, pushing her away, "Shut the fuck up! I'm not weak and I'm not a fucking baby you need to mother around all the time!"

_Why does it always end up this way, _Mikasa wondered sorrowfully, flinching slightly at his expression. He'd just woken up after going to hell and back, and he was already angry with her, again.

"Eren, I'm sorry, I just-"

"No! I don't want to hear it! You think I'm some weakling that you have to protect, but guess what Miss I-am-stronger-than-you – I saved you from the Titans, and from those jerks with the canons! _I _saved _your _life twice!"

He was still angry, yes, though there was something else in his blazing eyes, something she couldn't quite identify. It wasn't jealousy, no…

"So stop fucking fussing over me all the time and insisting on saving me because I can take care of myself! I don't need you to protect me all the time!"

"Eren-"

"Even when I got swallowed, I fucking made it back and-"

And the Mikasa just couldn't contain herself any longer.

The noise of the slap echoed in the empty room, and even Mikasa's hand stung from it.

She had punched him yes, when they had been kids. But that had been years ago, when they had always gotten into little scuffles.

Even then, this was the first time she'd slapped him.

Eren was gaping at her, green eyes wide, his right cheek reddening from the blow.

"No, Eren," she said softly, "You do. Not because you're weak, but because you're too impulsive. Look what happened the one time I wasn't with you. The one time I wasn't there to protect you."

He seemed too shocked to retaliate, still staring at her, a hand coming up to his cheek.

"Armin told me – he told me what you did – you –"

And then she couldn't bear to look at him anymore, as her eyes filled with tears at the memory, the terrible few moments when she thought she'd lost him forever. She turned away, the tears now streaming down her cheeks. She quickly rubbed them away with her fist.

She wouldn't let him see her cry. She had to be strong, for him. Even if he didn't want it, even if he treated her like an absolute jerk, she still had to.

Suddenly, Mikasa felt an iron grip on her arm, and Eren yanked her towards him, none too gently. He was standing up, out of his bed, and seemed to have pulled his arm lose of the tube it had been attached to.

But for once, Mikasa found she couldn't say anything, and just stared at the ground, willing her tears to go away.

His gripped her chin with his fingers, forcing her to meet his eyes. His thumb was rough against her skin, and his eyebrows were furrowed as he stared at her.

"You're impossible, you know that," Eren muttered, shaking his head.

"M-me?" Mikasa choked out, "You're the one who – who almost _died_ –"

And then more tears came out and Mikasa found herself sobbing in front of Eren like a little girl.

"You're – you're crying," Eren sounded genuinely surprised.

"What do you expect?!" Mikasa rubbed at her eyes, "You're such an idiot and I – I thought – I really thought -"

She broke down again, unable to voice the terrible thought.

"Oh god," Eren groaned, "Mikasa… Mikasa don't cry, please… you can yell at me and lecture me and fuss over me all you want, just please don't cry."

And then his fingers brushed against her cheek, wiping away her tears. His skin was rough but his touch was unexpectedly gentle, and Mikasa found her heart fluttering wildly despite the circumstances.

"I'm sorry I worried you," Eren said softly, "But it's okay now."

And then Mikasa launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him close to her, like she had when she first found him, alive amidst the flesh of his crumbling Titan form.

He stiffened, but she didn't care, and buried her head in his chest, listening to the steady, reassuring beat of his heart, feeling his chest rise and fall as he breathed. They stayed like that for a few moments, Eren's hand rising to pat her head before he gently pried her away.

"Promise me," Mikasa begged, "Eren, promise me – never again – "

"Mikasa," his eyes bore into hers, "You know the risk that our duty entails. I can't make you any promise like that. But I do plan to kill every single last fucking Titan that I can, and that plan wouldn't work out quite well if I were dead."

Figuring that was the most she could get out of him at this point, Mikasa nodded and stepped back.

"You should reattach your catheter," she couldn't help but add.

"Yes, doctor," Eren rolled his eyes.

He eventually settled back down, and she sat on the edge of his bed.

They sat in silence, but it wasn't the angry, bitter silence of before, but more like a companionable silence, one that reminded her of the days of their childhood; carefree, innocent days before the Titan attack, spent collecting firewood and lying down side by side in the grass and watching the clouds.

"…are you still sulking?" Eren asked after a few moments.

"I – I'm not sulking!" Mikasa's cheeks flamed at the accusation.

"You know, you sure cried a lot," he continued, "Even though you pretend to be some super strong warrior, you still cried. Just like a girl."

"What's your problem?" Mikasa snapped at him, before she realized he was grinning at her.

"Who would have thought?" he asked, his voice light and teasing, "The mighty Mikasa, rank number one, sobbing her eyes out over me."

Strangely enough, he didn't sound jealous when he said it this time.

"Are you proud of yourself?" Mikasa narrowed her eyes at him, "You are, aren't you. You shouldn't be."

"I'm not proud of myself," he frowned at her, "I don't like seeing you sad."

Mikasa didn't quite know how to respond to that.

"It's just… I've never seen you cry since – you know… and I don't like it, but it's also kind of… um…"

"Kind of what?" Mikasa prompted.

"Ah, it's nothing," Eren seemed to be flushing, "Forget it."

"No, tell me," Mikasa pushed him.

"It means you have a weakness too," he finally said, and then he smiled at her.

It was a genuine smile, and disarming, and Mikasa wondered when she had last seen such an expression on his face. It was definitely one that she'd like to see more often.

"You have a weakness," Eren continued, "And eventually, I'm going to figure it out exactly."

_Of course I do, you idiot, _Mikasa thought to herself, _and it's you._

"I see."

"You know, Mikasa…" Eren gazed at her for a moment, "You worry a lot, and you act like my mother, which I hate, because you're not – and you're annoying and you always nag me and I know I get pissed off… but, you understand right?"

"Understand?"

"Understand that no matter what I say – well – you're still always family… and I know the only reason you're so unbearable is because – well, because I'm family too, right?"

_Yes… family… _Mikasa thought to herself, pondering the exact meaning of family and how far that definition could be stretched.

Then she realized.

_He's trying to apologize for what he said before, before the invasion. He just can't bring himself to say it outright._

"I understand."

* * *

Things stayed peaceful between Eren and Mikasa for a day. She still fussed over him, but he seemed more tolerant of her presence, something which made her a lot happier. But that evening, before dinner, Eren stormed up to her, his eyes blazing with an all-too-familiar fury.

"Mikasa," he practically snarled, gripping her wrist. "We need to talk."

She allowed him to drag her outside, both of them ignoring Jean's angry comment about how to treat girls right.

Once outside, Eren shoved her against a wall, his arms caging her as he pressed his palms against the cement and leaned in.

"Wh-what's up?" Mikasa found her cheeks heating up at his proximity.

"Cut the crap, Mikasa," Eren snarled, "Armin told me what you did."

…_figures, _Mikasa sighed to herself. She knew she'd have to deal with this issue eventually.

"You yell at me for being reckless and not taking care of myself, but turns out you're the biggest fucking hypocrite in the world! How fucking arrogant do you have to be to try and take on those Titans yourself?

"And to run out of gas? That's so fucking careless, making such a rookie mistake! Had you lost your mind?!"

_No, _Mikasa thought, _I lost my heart… and my will to live… but-_

"Mikasa!" he grabbed her shoulders, shaking her roughly, "Answer me! What the hell were you trying to do?!"

His face was close to hers. She could feel his warm breath, but his eyes were still blazing with anger.

It didn't upset her. If anything, it made filled her with a selfish joy to see Eren losing control and getting so worked up at the notion of her being in danger.

"I made a mistake," she told him.

"Fuck you!" Eren's nails dug into her shoulders, "Don't give me that shit! What the hell is wrong with you? If I hadn't turned into a Titan and saved you back then…"

"Thank you," Mikasa smiled at him, "For that. You saved my life."

Eren seemed taken aback by this sudden reversal, and he flushed at her words.

"You don't – why the heck are you – don't _thank _me!" he snapped, though Mikasa could tell that despite his anger a part of him was pleased.

It always irked him, having to be the one that was rescued instead of the rescuer, when it came to her. But she valued his safety more than his ego, so she never paid it much thought.

"Armin said you rushed off straight into the onslaught, and that you were moving way too quickly and wasting gas unnecessarily."

"I lost my judgment," Mikasa said, "For a short while… a mistake I don't plan to repeat."

"Lost your judgment," Eren glared at her harder, "That's the last thing I'd expect to hear you say. Damn it, Mikasa, we have enough crap to deal with, what with those giant bastards roaming around everywhere. I always trusted that you of all people would be fine, that you were better than that…"

"I'm sorry," Mikasa told him, "But when – I thought you died – I just – I don't know, I lost the will to fight…"

The words had left her mouth before she realized and it was too late to take them back.

Eren's expression had turned absolutely livid.

"What the _fuck _is that supposed to mean? You lost the will to fight?!"

"I - should probably rephrase myself…"

"So you thought I died, and you decided to give up?!"

Mikasa didn't answer, averting her gaze from his blazing one.

"Mikasa! What the _fuck?!_"

"…"

"How many times do I have to tell you," Eren growled at her, "Stop being so fucking selfish all the time! I don't care what you were thinking, you can't just throw away your life like that!"

This time, she figured that he was actually being reasonable, so she didn't refute his point. Besides, Eren being Eren would certainly need a few more minutes to rant before he could cool off.

"What about all the people who were depending on you, to save their lives? What about your other team members? What about Armin? What about _me?! _Whether I was dead or not – Mikasa – all those years ago… I risked my life to save you!"

Eren yanked at her scarf, thereby pulling her face a few centimeters closer to his own.

Mikasa couldn't help but flush at the proximity though Eren seemed too angry to realize.

"Remember this? Remember this scarf? This scarf you wear every single day! Remember what happened that night, what almost could have happened? Remember what I told you?

"I told you to fight! I told you to always keep fighting! You can't possibly throw all that away! The Mikasa I knew would never do that!"

"Look, I realized my mistake," Mikasa said, "I fought, eventually, I fought against the Titan-"

She placed a placating hand on his arm, but he shrugged her off.

"Too late," he told her, "Your gear was useless by then. You were out of gas. If I hadn't been there…"

And he was absolutely right.

"Well, now you know how I feel about you, literally every hour of every day," Mikasa finally burst out, unable to control herself.

"This isn't a fucking competition, Mikasa!" Eren yelled at her, frustrated, "You nearly – oh, fuck it!"

He released his hold on her shoulders and stormed off.

"Wait – Eren – " Mikasa called after him, but he ignored her.

Mikasa sighed, but figured it was probably best to just give him his time.

* * *

Mikasa found Eren later that night, sitting on the edge of the wall, his lean figure silhouetted against the moonlight. She walked towards him and sat down by his side.

He ignored her.

She turned to observe his face, his sharp features partially lit, and his burning green eyes staring off into the distance. His dark brown hair hung over his eyes, and for a moment she thought he looked especially attractive, before she hastily dismissed that train of thought.

"Eren."

He ignored her.

"You skipped dinner," she said.

He ignored her again.

"I bought you some bread."

Still no response.

"Do you want me to feed you?"

"Does your definition of 'feeding' involve you shoving the bread down my throat again?" he asked sarcastically, "If that's the case, I'll pass."

She wondered how he still remembered that incident. It had been years ago.

"I'll do that and I'll punch you in the face again," she threatened.

Eren made a condescending sound and looked off to the side again.

Mikasa sighed, and bought the bread to his lips.

"What the –" Eren glared at her, "I'm not your fucking baby brother! Stop treating me like I a-mmf!"

Mikasa, none-too-gently, pushed the bread between his lips.

Eren shot her a venomous glare, as he grudgingly took a bite.

Mikasa was surprised when he didn't snatch the bread away, but took a second bite and a third bite, pretty much allowing her to feed him as he fidgeted with the fastenings of his 3D Maneuver Gear.

Eventually he reached up, his fingers sliding over hers momentarily.

"What?" Eren asked her roughly when Mikasa froze, staring at their touching hands.

They'd held hands a lot when they'd be kids, something Eren had quickly grown out of. But off late he'd been a lot more receptive to her touch, even touching her more than usual, even if it wasn't in a way she would have wanted…

He pulled the last chunk of bread out of her grasp and popped it into his mouth, chewing quickly before swallowing.

"Are you still mad about before?" Mikasa asked tentatively.

He glared at her, but then at the look on her face, his expression softened.

"I told you, I lost my cool, it won't happen again," Mikasa said earnestly, half-wondering why she was the one being lectured when he was ten times worse than her on this matter.

"Never stop fighting, Mikasa," Eren told her, "If something were to happen to you, I-"

"You what?"

"I don't know," he muttered, before glaring at her again, "But I refuse to lose _you_ too."

There was such venom in his voice when he said it, such force, but she knew it wasn't directed at her.

Mikasa scooted slightly closer to him.

"I feel the same way, Eren."

* * *

"…following his transformation into a Titan, he swung his fist three times, aiming for Mikasa Ackerman..."

Mikasa's heart plummeted at the expression on Eren's face when the testimonial was read out. She had figured out they would use it against him, and had been dreading his reaction. Still, he was taking it worse than she'd expected.

All the color had drained out of his face, and his green eyes widened. He looked absolutely horrified.

He whirled his head around, his eyes meeting hers across the courtroom.

_It's not your fault, it was an accident, I know you didn't mean it, _Mikasa couldn't possibly convey it to him then and he continued to stare at her with an expression of such unadulterated shock and pain.

And then she was forced to testify against him.

"Yes," she said softly, "That is true…"

And then Eren tore his eyes away from her, staring at the ground. He was shaking slightly, and looked so agonized. She knew the expression – she had seen it over five years ago when his mother was eaten before his eyes.

_Eren look at me, _Mikasa urged, _it's not your fault!_

"Before that, in his Titan form, Eren saved my life twice!" Mikasa added, her voice ringing across the hushed room.

He looked at her then, his eyes wide and traumatized. She held his gaze as she recounted how Eren had saved her.

And then they bought up the incident, the incident from when they were 9 years old, and someone in the courtroom suggested that Mikasa should be executed as well.

Eren's self control finally broke.

"NO!" he shouted, his voice cracking slightly, "I mean – please don't!"

His eyes were like bullets piercing into her very soul when he said the next part, and he sounded so traumatized that Mikasa wanted nothing more than to run over there and take him in her arms and assure him that everything would be okay.

"I may be a monster," Eren said, self-loathing coloring his voice, "But Mikasa has nothing to do with that! She has nothing to do with that at all!"

* * *

After the testimonial, nobody was allowed to see Eren. It was only when the scouting corps had left the wall, when Mikasa was walking with Armin, did he eventually come to them.

"Hey!" he greeted tentatively.

"Eren!" Armin cried joyously.

"Feels like I haven't seen you in ages, you know," he said, and Mikasa noticed he sounded unusually awkward.

His eyes flicked to her for a moment, but he wouldn't meet her gaze, directing his comment mainly at Armin.

_Don't tell me he still blames himself for that…_

"Have they done anything terrible to you?" Mikasa hurried over to him, "Like examining your body's every nook, or putting you under mental strain?"

She grasped his arms, and he flinched at her touch, taking a step back, his eyes wide.

"N-no… nothing of the sort…"

_Don't you dare try to push me away because of this, Eren. _

"That irksome shortie was acting so high-and-mighty during the hearing. I'll make sure to repay him in full some day…" Mikasa vowed, darkening.

"You… you can't mean corporal Rivaille can you?"

Their conversation was interrupted however, by the arrival of their other comrades.

And then Jean bought it up, and Mikasa wanted to punch the guy.

"I heard you tried to kill Mikasa when you transformed into a Titan. What the hell's with that, huh?"

And Eren froze, the same agonized expression from the courtroom making it's way onto his face.

Mikasa really wanted to punch Jean.

Eren stared blankly ahead, unable to speak.

"He didn't try to kill me," Mikasa said, "He just wanted to swat a fly."

"You're not the one I'm asking," Jean said darkly.

Eren still didn't say a word.

"Mikasa, that wound on your face is pretty deep," Jean said casually, "When did you get that?"

Eren turned to look at her, his head moving mechanically, and Mikasa flicked her bangs over her forehead to cover the half-healed gash.

When Eren finally spoke his voice was cracked and wavering.

"Seems like it's true about me trying to kill Mikasa after I transformed…"

It pained him to say it. She could see the pain in his eyes, hear it in his voice.

But there was nothing she could do or say to him then, at that point.

And there was nothing she'd be able to do or say to him for a long time.

* * *

They were separated soon after, with all the chaos following the appearance of the female Titan.

And then Eren was kidnapped and Mikasa found herself losing control again, as she rampaged after female Titan, temporarily joining up with Levi even though she despised him for how he'd treated Eren at the trial.

But then when she saw Levi speeding out of the female Titan's torn mouth, Eren's body in his arms, she had never been more thankful to a man in her life.

* * *

"Eren!" Mikasa cried as he stirred awake, sitting up slowly in the wheelbarrow.

"Mikasa?" his voice was weak, but she could still sense his displeasure at seeing her there, riding right next to him.

"Don't try to get up yet! You should rest for now!"

"What about the female type?"

"She got away…"

"Why?! Everybody – what – what about the plan?!"

"It failed," Mikasa said, "You need to rest."

Eren stared at her, realizing dawning upon him.

"This is – was it you – again – who saved me?"

Mikasa turned away from him, silently, unable to say anything.

Eren's eyes had always reflected his emotion, and right now they were full of so much anger, and regret – and confusion.

Confusion that she had saved him. Shock.

Eren loathed himself so much at that moment that he had actually believed she would hate him too, and Mikasa couldn't begin to fathom that.

Still, there would be time to talk later… if he wasn't torn from her again.

"We almost made it to the wall," Mikasa said.

"Huh?"

"I'll see you around, Eren," she pulled her reins.

"Mikasa…" he was staring after her, looking utterly miserable.

Mikasa's heart sank as she turned her back to him and rode away.

* * *

Mikasa finally found him alone, that evening, sitting on a broken tree trunk at the edge of the campsite, staring into the flames.

Eren's face was rigid, but his eyes burned with emotions, lit by the dancing fire.

"Eren."

His had snapped up and he scrambled to his feet.

"Mikasa – I was just – going to get dinner," Eren muttered, "See you later-"

She grabbed his arm.

"Don't touch me!" Eren cried, sounding almost fearful.

"How long do you plan to keep avoiding me?" Mikasa demanded.

"Mikasa, just – let me go!"

"It hurts, you know, when you avoid me like that."

Eren clenched his fists.

"I – I don't care," he said, his voice wavering, "I'll only end up hurting you more if I don't."

"Eren," Mikasa pleaded, "Don't say that. Please don't say that."

"It's for your own sake," he told her, wrenching his arm free of her grip, "Stay the fuck away from me, Mikasa."

"No!"

"Mikasa!" he glowered at her, his eyes flashing, "Stop being selfish! You've heard what everyone has been saying and you know what happened, even if I don't."

"Eren! Snap out of that! Don't tell me you actually believe all that-"

"I – I'm a monster!" Eren yelled, "I'm a fucking monster, Mikasa! I'm a fucking monster who tried to kill _you, _the person I wanted most to-"

She didn't let him finish though, and her punch sent him flying backwards till he fell on the ground.

"What the fuck-" he stared up at her incredulously from the ground, and Mikasa punched him twice more, though with less force.

"Mikasa?!" Eren cried, wiping a trace of blood away from his lip.

"There you go," Mikasa said softly, sinking to her knees besides him, "I hit you three times. Now we're even."

"Mikasa…" his voice was soft, pleading, and it broke her heart, "You can't… it's not the same… I'm a monster…"

She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and pulling him to her. She could feel his heartbeat and the rise and fall of his ribcage beneath her chest, and his brown hair tickled her cheek.

"You're not a monster, and I'm not afraid of you," she told him, bringing a hand up and burying it in his dark locks, "Don't you ever let me hear you saying that kind of thing again."

"Mikasa… please… let me go…"

"Never," she vowed, hugging him tighter.

"…you're always so stubborn," Eren mumbled, and tentatively, his arms came up to circle around her waist, and he hugged her back.

He was shaking slightly, and Mikasa realized, her heart twisting, that he was crying.

"I'm sorry, Mikasa," Eren said brokenly, "I'm so – so sorry –"

"Stop apologizing," she told him firmly, pulling away so she could look at his face.

His eyes were glistening with tears, and some had even rolled down his cheek.

He looked like a little boy again, at that moment, a little boy who was lost and sad and confused.

"Oh, Eren," Mikasa cupped his face with her hands, wiping away his tears with her thumb, "It's alright."

"It's not alright," he murmured, his eyes flicking to her forehead.

He raised a hand, sweeping her dark hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

Mikasa froze, as his fingers gently traced the gash on her forehead.

"I – I did this to you," Eren said softly, "Didn't I?"

Mikasa didn't answer him,.

She suddenly noticed how close they were. She was practically in his lap, her hands holding his face. One of Eren's arms was still looped around her waist.

"You know, when we were younger," Eren said, "I always wanted to protect you, you know. I always felt like I should. That's why I got mad whenever any of the other kids as much as tried to even touch you."

Mikasa smiled slightly, remembering those days. When she'd first moved in, Eren had always been super-protective, always holding her hand and dragging her around with him, glaring at anyone who he thought was staring at her too much.

Mikasa had secretly loved the attention that he'd lavished on her, even though it annoyed her sometimes that he treated her so delicately.

Once he'd even nearly broken his wrist punching a boy who had insulted her. Of course, Mikasa had dealt with the bully herself thereafter.

From that point, the situation had reversed, as it became quite evident that it wasn't Mikasa who needed being taking care of.

"I remember that," Mikasa said fondly, "You were so possessive. It was cute."

Eren flushed slightly, his fingers moving absentmindedly from her scar to trace the contour of her cheek.

"Eventually I realized you didn't need protecting. And then you started acting all bossy, fussing over me and acting like you were stronger and I was the one who needed to be protected all the time. It really annoyed me, you know. I thought I was supposed to be the one taking care of you."

Mikasa was a little shocked that Eren would speak so openly, but she didn't stop him. She couldn't help but lean slightly into his touch though. Eren didn't seem to notice.

"When I got my Titan powers… the first thing I realized, was that for once – for once I could finally be the one protecting you. Like how it should be…"

"And you did," Mikasa reminded him gently, "Twice…"

"And I also tried to kill you," Eren finished, regret and self-loathing lacing his voice as he stared intently at her, "Mikasa! I'm _so _sorry!"

"Eren!" she gasped, "I told you – you don't need to apologize-"

"I lost my head," Eren gritted his teeth, "I fucking attacked you! What if I'd killed you by mistake? What if I'd eaten you?! I don't know if I can control this power of mine! I want to use it to protect everyone, and to protect you! But I don't know if I can - and that's why – at least when I transform – you should just stay away!"

"You know I won't!"

"Mikasa, please," Eren begged, "For _my _sake, if not yours. I don't know how I would live with myself if I accidentally injured you or killed you! It's been bothering me for days-"

"Eren," Mikasa said, pulling his face towards her, till their foreheads were touching, "Look at me."

He did, his tortured, shining eyes meeting hers.

"I'm not afraid of you. You're not going to eat me. You're not a monster. And even when you transform, I'm never leaving your side. I trust you, Eren. You just need to trust yourself."

"You – you really – "

"Yes," Mikasa said firmly, before pulling away, just so she could lean upwards a plant a kiss on his forehead.

Eren's green eyes widened, the turbulent emotions he'd been showing quickly replaced by surprise.

His cheeks colored, and Mikasa could feel her heart thumping wildly against her chest.

Suddenly, she became extremely aware of how close they were. Their noses were almost brushing, and if she wanted, she could have leaned over and kissed him right on the lips.

Eren seemed to become aware of their proximity as well, releasing his hold around her waist and pulling back.

"We should – we should go for dinner," he said, standing up swiftly.

Mikasa couldn't help but feel disappointed. The feeling of him holding her, the feeling of having him so close – it stirred up something within her, and she felt like she would have wanted it to last forever. She felt like she would have wanted more, though she wasn't sure exactly what.

Mikasa stood up as well, quickly falling into step besides Eren.

There walked in silence for awhile, their hands brushing accidentally, once – twice…

Mikasa was overcome by a sudden urge to take Eren's hand, and slip her fingers between his. She wondered if she dared, and what his reaction would be.

She reached out tentatively-

"Eren! Mikasa!"

Mikasa's hand fell back to her side at the sound of Armin's voice.

The blonde boy ran towards them.

"Where have you guys been? We've been summoned for a meeting, quick! It's to discuss the identity of the female Titan and the plan for tomorrow."

_Some day, _Mikasa thought to herself, _some day when it's all over… maybe then…_

But for now, she'd be content with the few stolen moments of intimacy and the privilege of always staying by his side.

They had to survive first. The most important thing at this stage was always survival.

Still-

"Eren?" Mikasa whispered, as Armin ran ahead of them, calling some of the other squad members.

"Yeah?" he slanted a glance at her.

"Don't – don't push me away again, okay?"

He rolled his eyes, punching her shoulder softly.

"Even if I did, you'd pull me right back, wouldn't you?"

A small smile tugged at her lips.

"Always."

* * *

_Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed that. _

_I tried to keep them as much in character as I could while showing the development of some sort of emotions, which was harder on Eren's side, since I think right now he's so focused on his goal to kill all the Titans that it's hard for him to even think of anything else. _

_To be honest, I'm not keeping much hope for the coupling in the manga (it's been hinted that she has feelings for him, and I'm sure he could realize that he does too) simply because it's more of a survival manga where the characters really don't have time for romance. _

_And we don't know if they'll even make it till the end, though I sure hope they do. _

_However, Mikasa's feelings for Eren are clear enough, and Eren has also repeatedly saved her when he could, starting from when they were just kids. It shows that he does care for her deeply, probably more than anyone else. _

_There were also those panels when he realized he attacked Mikasa – his expression was beautiful, I just had to write it down. I'm pretty sure some of the scenes I wrote about could very well have happened, it's just the manga is focused more on the action than that. _

_Since SnK has such a brilliant plot, I'm not going to extent it on my own. I don't think I could come up with anything good enough. I may update this later once the manga progresses further. I've read up to 47, but I'll probably update once it gets to about 60+ chapters, unless I have sudden inspiration. Right now the only thing I can think of is the fact that (__**SPOILER ALERT FOR CHAPTER 31-32: **__the only way they managed to get Eren to transform was when Mikasa was under the threat of being attacked by the female Titan). _

_Though I've marked this as complete for now, it could turn out to be an ongoing story. _

_Please leave a review and tell me what you think!_

_Also, to those of you anime fans who are obsessed with the SnK opening like I am (or even if you're not), here's a little treat which you may or may not have seen: go to Youtube and type in 'Eren and Mikasa singing Guren no Yumiya', and watch the subsequent video. It's their voice actors singing the theme and it's the most adorable thing I have ever heard!_


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